Card selector machine



March 5, 1946. W. H.l WADE 2239519241' GARD SELECTOR MACHINE Filed Deo. 27. 1945 5 sheets-sheet 1 WMM v f 79 o ee E 2T 54 89 lo 5 5 n 5 9o se "1 |05 5 D 7\ 7 l E J 7 March 5, 1946.

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`CARD SELECTOR MAGHINE Filed Deo. 27, 194s 5 sheets-sheet 2 March 5, 1946.

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CARD SELECTOR MACHINEv Filed Deo.' 27, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 WWW ,2

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Patented Mar. s, 194e UNITED STATES vPATENT OFFICE y 2,395,924 CARD SELECTOR MACHINE Willard H. Wade, Washingtom. C. Application December 27, 1943, Serial No. 515,876

4 claims. (ci. 12s-16.1)

(Granted under the act of March 3, 11.883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) This invention relates to card selector machoines which are designed to pick out from a number of cards, that card or cards having information on items including a specic characteristic or combination of characteristics selected by the operator.

There are in the art a number of devices to perform somewhat similar functions in accordance with various systems which are more 01'- less complicated.

The object of the present invention is to produce a machine that will be simple to operate and will enable the operator to simultaneously pull out all of the cards in a series or file of any total number of information cards, which include some specific characteristic or combination of characteristics, as desired.

A further object is to construct a machine accommodating any total number of cards each coveringdetail information on a specic one of said number of items of the same general class, for which the machine is used, and having means `for instantly selecting all those cards which describe items having one or more common characteristics.

A further object is to provide a card case, containing a complete series of cards each of which the main leverlntheir normal inoperative posions;

Fig. 6v ls'a View of the same mechanism with the key and card rail unit raised over the fixed l ing the knives withdrawn;

catch rail and the main lever slightly depressed on its way down during the operating movement;

Fig. 7 is a rear view of the mechanism immediately in front of the card space;

Fig. 8 is a portion of this mechanism which operates the slidable knife assembly, showing the main operating lever down in a position for hold- Fig. 9 shows a little more of this mechanism with the main lever down a little further where it' engages the knife assembly lowering mechamsm; A

Fig. 10 is a portion of the same mechanism with the main lever still further down where it engages the lock releasing mechanism for lowering the card and guard rail;

Fig. 11 shows that portion of the mechanism operated by the loading key for bringingthe end rails up to card supporting position while withdrawing the knivesv to permit insertion or rediscloses one of a group of items of the same class, such as airplanes, ships, tanks, etc., with' means for instantly withdrawing all cards disclosing those items having one or more common features that may be selected by the operator.

Other and more specific objects of this invention will become apparent as the description of one illustrative example of the device proceeds, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l'is a front view of a preferred form of for the purpose of lillustration in the present em- Y bodiment of the device;

Fig. 4 is ari end view taken from the right end of Fig. 3 with end plate removed;

Fig. 5 is aportion of the mechanism showing a. key and card rail assembly and a portion of 55 moval of cards in the cardy space and locking the guard rail in operative position;

Figs. 12 and 13 are similar to Fig. 3, but show I the mechanism in further advanced steps in the selecting operation; and

Fig. 14 shows a detail view of the loading key mechanism as seen from the side of the machine.

Similar parts in the several views and gures of the drawings are designated by like numerals. The general functions and operation ofthe machine will. be first dened and then the oper,- ating mechanism will be described in detail.

-Adescriptive card is made out for eachof a series of items of any general class, such as for example, known existing foreign and domestic war ships, as in the present instance. The cards, being notched in a predetermined manner, in accordance with the features included in the items described, are all loaded or placed in the card space of the machine in any arbitrary order. The loading key is then raised and the machine is ready for operation. f

When it is desired to pick out all the cards inthe machine describing items having one or more of a series of most discernable features, as

vit would be, for example, in the process of identication of a destroyer or battleship observed at such distance that only a limited number of features thereof can be distinguished and its identity cannot be immediately established, such cards maybe promptly selected and drawn out from this whole series, by the aid of this machine, and

may then be examined for further and more definite features to be sought in identifying the vessel observed. Thus'it may be more promptly determined whether it is an enemy or a friendly vessel and its identity may be more accurately and quickly established.

The above selection of the cards is made as follows: as many of the specific features as can be seen at first sight are immediately registered on the keyboard by tripping the keys on the machine which are designated by those features, and the main operating lever is then depressed and released, whereupon the desired cards are ejected to one side into an open space in the machine for easy withdrawal, after the manual withdrawal of which the machine is ready for operation to select any other cards out of the remainder, having ships with any other desirg able combination of features. The elected cards,

afterhaving served their purposel may be replaced in any order into the card space `with the rest of the cards, by lowering the load key during their insertion, then raising it to put the machine in readiness for another selecting operation.

Referring now to the figures in the drawings, which disclose this specific form of my invention for purposes of illustration; the machine is rigidly mounted in a tray I having padded feet 2 at the four corners thereof, and a latch pin 3 at each end. This tray forms the bottom of a carrying case for the machine as well as a support pad for placing the machine on a desk or other suitable surface and operating it without injury to the surface. The top box-like portion '5 of the carrying case fits over the machine and has a handle strip 6 on top and latches I at the ends on the bottom edge to lock over the latch pins 3 on the tray. The edges of this box-like portion and the tray portion match and thus form a complete enclosure. for the machine, so that it may be stored or safely carried around. Obviously, a lock or locks may be provided for this enclosure to prevent tampering by unauthorized persons.

'I'he machine itself has a rigid frame structure 3 to which the various moving parts are attached and in which the card space 3 is formed. The

cards I0, which are all uniformly notched at II at their sides near the top, are placed in the card space while the load key I2 is depressed. Depressing this key withdraws the knife blades I3 and raises the end rails I4, while at the same time the guide rail I5 for the open end I6 of the card space is lifted into operative position if it has not previously been moved into this position- When the cards are in place, the loading key I2 is raised. This operation of the key I2 first releases the knife blades I3 which enter the notches Il near the top of the cards and then lowers the end rails I4 to the level of the key rails I1 in their inop- `erative position. Thus the cards are all in hanging position on the knife blades so that their During the depressing This is done through the linkage comprising the connection of the lever- 23, which is pivoted to the frame at 4, to the short arm 25 of the bell crank 23 on one end of the shaft 21 which carries a similar bell crank at its other end. 'Ihe long arms of these bell cranks 26 are rigidly attached to the ends of the end rail I4, A similar bell crank and end rail assembly is mounted for oscillation with a shaft 21 atthe other end of the machine and the two end rail assemblies are linked to operate simultaneously through the links 28 and 28' connected at their outer ends to the short arm 25 of a bell crank 26 on each of the end rail assemblies, and at their other ends to the opposite ends of the lever 23 pivotally mounted at its center 33 on the frame member 3|.

Further downward movement of the loading key and the cam plate brings the other cam 2I into contact with the lever 32 pivotally mounted on the frame member 33 at 34. This lever is pivotally connected through a pin and slot connection 35 to a link 35 at 31, the other end 38 of this link being connected to the horizontal arm 33 of a bell crank 40, mounted on an oscillatable pivot 4I on the arm 42, which is pivoted at its other end 43 on the frame member 44. A similar arm 42 is pivoted at the rear of the machine frame and has a similar oscillatable pivot 4I on which another bell crank 40 is likewise mounted and the two bell cranks have vertical arms 45 to the upper ends 46 of which a knife blade I3 is rigidly attached. A complementary knife blade mechanism is mounted at the other end of the machine frame, the two mechanisms being connected to operate in unison to retractv the blades I3 through links 41 and 4'I"` connected at their outer ends to the upper ends 48 of the vertical arms 45 and their other ends being corinected to opposite arms 43 and 43' of lever lo pivoted at its center 5I to the frame member 52.

Cam 2i also strikes arm 53 on latch member 54, thus raising the latch pawl 55 off of pin 58 on link 51, releasingJlnk 51'so it moves to the left in response to action of the spring 53. This operates the bell crank 63 and link BI to bring the end guide member I5 into position to guide time by the rail members G4 under which the knife blades work, and the other ends 65 of the cards being also guided by fixed guide plate BB. Locking lever` 61 slips under a pin at the pivot 63 to lock the guide rail I5 in position until it is moved out-of the way by operation of the link 51 in reverse direction as explained hereinafter. Spring 58 normally retains the locking lever in locking position.

When the loading key is raised afte;` the cards are loaded. the reverseoperation of the cams 20 and 2| first releases the knife blades so that they reenter the notches at the top of the cards and then lowers the end rails allowing the cards to hang freely on the knife blades.

The selecting operation of the machine is controlled and performed as follows:

Each card rail and key unit I'I-I Il-TI is guided for vertical movement. Upon raising any key 1I, the corresponding. unit is raised as a whole until the notch near the upper end 0 1 its vertical member 10 springs over the forward edge 12 of the fixed catch rail 13. This simultaneously swings the lock bar 'I4 which is positioned over the tops of all the vertical members 'I0 and has a pair of spaced parallel arms 15, 16 pivoted to the frame.

One end of the lock bar 14 contacts and releases the main lever lo-ck 11 and the lockbar also has a link 18 at its other end pivoted to arm 1 6, connecting it to the latch member 54 through al lost motion connection 82 for raising the' latch pawl 55 off the pin 56 on link 51, if it hasnt been pres viously lifted by operation of the loading key,

While the, blades are still maintained in their lowered position the cam lever 81 slipsoft the end of lever 88 and spring 80 restores the blades to their projecting position. The springs 99 restore thus bringing the guide rail I5 up into guiding remaining at the original level; being supported` by one or more of the raised card rails I1, while the cards having slots at their bottom edges over all the raised card rails have in the meantime dropped to a level where they are supported only by the unraised card rails. Then the guide rail I5 is lowered out of the way of these latter cards at the open end of the card space, the release bar 8| is moved to release all the keys and restore the lock bar 14, and the knife blades are raised slightly to their original position up against the guide members 64 and the link 51 4is locked with the guide rail down.

The upward movement of the main lever 19 is performed by the main spring 83 .upon release of the lever. ment member 84 is swung against the ends of .any cards that may be in the lowered position and pushes them out toward the open end of the card space. When the lever 19 reaches its upper limit it is'automatically hooked by the lock 11.

These main lever operations are performed by the aid of a series of levers actuated by the main lever either directly or through a cam means 85 mounted on a carriage 85 guided for vertical motion in response to the lever movement. A lost motion connection between the main lever and the carriage rst moves the cam lever 81 into the plane of levers 88, 89 and 90, .and then moves it vertically downward with the carriage so as to intercept first the lever 88. The spring 86' is for taking up this lost motion by holding up the carriage until the main lever has moved the cam lever 81 into position. When lever 81 intercepts the lever 88 this lever in turn operates the knife blade retracting means by means of its arm 9| sliding between a pair of guide pins 92' on link 41. The next lever intercepted is 89, which lowers the knife blades while in their retracted position.

This lowering operation is made'possible by reason of the pivotal mounting of the knife blade assemblies on bell cranks 82, attached to shafts 92. The upper end of lever 89 is linked tothe downwardly extending arm 94 of the bell crank 82 on the right side of the machine at the front. The downwardly extending arms of the bell cranks at the rear of'the shafts are linked for simultaneous complementary operation by means of the links 95 and 95 and lever 91, as shown, the lever 91 being pivoted on the frame member 98.

The springs 99 at the four corners of the machine urge the blade assemblies upwardly against theI guide rails. The horizontal arms |30 of bell cranks 82 are connected by links I3I to the pivots 4I for lowering the blade assemblies against theforce of springs 99.

the blades to their normal elevation against the guide rails 64, when the cam' lever 81 moves down off the end of lever 89.

In the meantime lever 90 has been intercepted by cam lever 81 and operates through an arm |00 sliding between guide pins I III on release bar 8| to move it to the right and forward by'reason of the diagonal guide slots |02 and pin screws |03 (see Fig. 2). This movement of the release bar 8| pushes any vertical members of the card rail and key units that might be sprung over the edge ofthe fixed catch rail 13 off of this rail, -so

1 that these units all drop by gravity to their inoperativeposition, simultaneously lowering the lock bar 14 which releases the latch members 11 and 54. In the meantime another arm I 04 on lever 90 operating through a pin and slot connection |05 moves the link rod 51 to the left. This rod has anotherpin and slot connection |05 at the other end with arm |01 of the bell crank'80, previously referred to, for lowering the guide rail I5. The locking lever 61 is pushed out from under the pin at the pivot 59 upon initial movement of the link rod 51 to the left, by the projecting cam During this movement the abutmember |08 y.riveted at |09 thereto and acting against a pin I0 on the locking lever 51'. vWhen the guide rail hasmoved out of the way into its vlowered position, the latch member 54 drops over thepin 58, which has moved 'under the notched portion 55 of the latch member 54. Spring III urges the latch member down. The spring ||2 urges the lever arm |00 to retract the release bar 8| after the cam lever 81 slides down oi the end v The main lever 19 has a pair of pins 93 and ||3 between which a cam and pawl II 4 at the top of link I I5 operates. 'I'he link is hinged at the bottom to one arm of a bell crank IIB pivotally mountedI on the shaft 21'. of the bell crank is oscillatable to strike the ejector bar 84'which is mounted on arms ||9 to swing into the lower end of the card space below the level of the cards still hanging on the knife blades but above the bottoms of those that have been dropped for ejection through the open end of the card space. The ejector bar 84 is urged out of the card space by spring |20, mounted on a pro- .jection I2| at` the pivoted end of one of the arms II9. The link I|5 is urged forwardly by spring |22, the pivotal connection of the link being loose enough to permit a limited fore and aft oscillation of the'link. As the main lever 19 is pressed down the pin 93, rides over the bevelled edge of the cam and under the pawl shoulder |23; on its return stroke the pin 93 picks up the pawl shoulder |23 and pulls the link I|5 up, which causes arm I I8 of bell crank I|6 to strike the ejector bar 84 to eject the lowered cards, while the bevelled cam surface is acted upon by a stationary pin |24 on frame member |25 to push the pawl shoulder |23 olf the pin 93 on the main arm until the link is released and drops down to its inoperative position.

The card notches and blades and card rails are designed so as to permit a limited amount of misalignment .ofthe cards in the card space from a The other arm II8 mechanism.

strictly upright and squared position. However, to keep the cards from setting too far out of alignment during the loading operation. a series of guide wires In, may be used to separate the card space 9 into smaller sections 9." in which even a single card might be kept from being cocked too much out of position for proper operation of the knife blades `into 'the card-support notches.' These wires may bp clipped into position in holes |21 in the frame at one end and into holes i2! and slots I!! at the other end to keep them vertically positioned.

In the present form oi' machine, closure or cover plates l' are tted` around the machine except for the keyboard and operating lever and loading key and the openings at the top. and left end of the card space to provide for loadingl and ejection of the cards respectively. This not only improves the appearance of the machine but prevents accidental injury to the moving parts of the Fig. 12 shows some of the cards having been dropped and corresponds vto the position of the controls after the operating lever has reached the end ofits downstroke following the steps in the cycle of operations as shown progressively in Figs. 8, 9 and 10, after the knife blades have been returned to their normal`inward positions in the card notches of the cards remaining at the upper level.- vf

Fig, 13 shows the result of the return movement of the operating lever 19 after it has completed a full downward stroke. y

Broadly then, the present machine provides a -means operated as follows. to select all those description cards from a pack, which describe items having one or any combination of characteristics desired: v

After the machine is properly loadedv and set for a selecting operation, the operator pulls -up the key or keys which correspond to the desired characteristics. These keys once pulled up remain latched in their raised position until the operating lever is fully depressed, whereupon the keys are automatically returned to inoperative position. The operating lever is then fully depressed and released whereupon it returns to its original position. In the process of operating the lever downwardly the knife blades are caused to withdraw from their normal card/supporting position; the properly selected cards drop to a lower level as a result of their notches matching all the raised card rails, the remaining cards being held in their raised position by one or more of the raised card rails; the knife blades are lowered slightly, moved inwardly into the side notches at the tops oi' the cardsremaining in the raised position, and then raised slightly., back to their original card supporting position; the guide railis dropped out of the way; and the raised card rail and key units are released and drop to their normal lower level simultaneously releasing the: main lever locking latch. Upon its release, the main operating lever is returned to its uppermost position by the main spring, and is locked by the latch which was released upon dropping ot the rail and key units. On its way up the main operating lever causes the ejecting bar to strike the lowered cards sideways and these cards are shifted so that they extend into the electing space to one side of the frame, where they can be grasped and manually removed from the machine for inspection.

Operation of the loading key then permits reinscrtion of the removed cards or any additional cards into the card chamber with the rest of the cards.

Obviously, many modifications in the speciilc arrangement and form oi parts as well as size oi the vcard space may be made to accommodate'any number of cards and to suit specific requirements, without departing from the scope of the present invention, which is deilned in the appended claims.

The speciilc improvements included-in the device herein disclosed which comprise my invention are defined in the appended claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government oi the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

I claim:

l. In a selector comprising a frame adapted to receive a, plurality of edge-notched sheetsI selecting elements mounted in said frame adapted to cooperate with the notches in said sheets, releasable supporting means for said sheets, and an operating element movable in one direction for actuating said supporting means for effecting release of certain of said sheets; ejecting means for said sheets projected and restored by movementof said operating element in the return direction.

2. In a selector comprising a frame adapted to receive a plurality of edge-'notchedl sheets, and selecting elementsmounted in said frame adapted to cooperate with the notches in said sheets; releasable retaining means for said sheets; an operating element movable in forward and reverse directions for electing certain of said sheets, and means engaged upon movement of saidoperating element in one of said directions for actuating said retaining means to release selected sheets and in the other ci said directions to elect said selected sheets.

3. In a selector comprising a frame adapted to receive a plurality feredge-notched sheets, and selecting elements mounted in said frame adapted to cooperate with the notches in said sheets, and

mreleasable supporting means for said sheets; an

operating element movable in a forward direction for actuating said supporting means for releasing certain of said sheets, and means engaged upon return movement of said operating element for f electing said sheets.

4. In a selector comprising a frame adapted to receive a plurality of edge-notched sheets, and selecting elements mounted in said frame adapted to cooperate with the notches in said sheets; an operating element movable in a forward direction for releasinglcertain of said'sheets, and means engaged upon return movement of said operating element for jecting said sheets, including a spring-retracted kicker, a spring-pressed shouldered cam hinged thereto, a pin on said operating element for sliding over said cam and under said shoulder during the forward movement of said operating element, and a stationary lug for reacting against said cam on the return stroke of said operating element to move said cam shoulder off said pin allowing thei'kicker to return to its 

